Desires For The Blood
by TheFallenShadow
Summary: This is the story of Santarinus, a human turned vampire against his will. It's set twenty years after Kain sires all of his leiutenants, and just before Raziel is cast into the Abyss.
1. A Small Favour

'I am not a cursed being, as you so passionately believed. I am a wondrous creation, a Dark God,'

Kain speaking to Santarinus when he was pulled from the abyss.

Raziel frowned as he took the walk he had taken so many times before to Kain's chambers. He wasn't usually sent for in concern of something…trivial. Most likely, it was simply a report of the fledglings or another insignificant matter, but still…

He pushed open to the doors to his masters chambers with ease, and knelt down at the throne, his cloak bearing the mark of his clan draped over his right shoulder.

'Kain…you wished to see me?'

Kain glanced down at Raziel for a moment, then fixed his eyes on the Soul Reaver that lay in his hands, which for some reason were covered in bandages.

'Yes, Raziel, I was meaning to ask you…when did you last feed?'

'Not long ago, but not so recent that I could not sip another drop,'

'Good. Come with me, there is some trouble that I'd like you to deal with,'

'Trouble, Kain?'

'Follow me,'

Raziel stood up and followed Kain through a corridor at the back of the room, feeling dwarfed by the sheer vastness of his master's abode. Kain began to remove the bandages that covered his hands.

'I completed The Change last week, but it has not been a pleasant one,'

He held up his hands to the light to reveal long, ugly claws that protruded from the flesh were his fingers and thumb should have been.

Raziel glanced over at the claws.

'An interesting change. Does it pain you?'

'Yes, but not so that I cannot perform simple tasks. And…'

Kain raised his left hand above his head and suddenly slashed through the air at an impossible speed, his claws leaving trails of blue in the wake of his movement.

'Impressive,' Raziel mused, 'You could cut a human's throat at the speed of sound…'

Kain grinned, but due to the way his face had warped, it appeared as more of a grimace.

'Speaking of humans, Raziel…they concern our little problem,'

'Oh?'

'Two hours ago a man named Santarinus arrived at the gates, demanding he spoke with the murderer of his brother, Oblivius. I believe he is a vampire hunter, as was his brother. I have been informed that you killed Oblivius not two days ago, and fed upon him,'

'I fed upon a human by that name, yes,'

'I see. Now, the moment Santarinus even attempted to breach the gates, I had Dumah capture him from behind. We were planning to drain him and save the blood for times when Humans became scarce, but he demands that he avenges his brothers death by challenging you in combat. Do you object?'

'Not if you wish me to fight him,'

'I do. You will both be armed with steel spears, but the method of execution is at your disposal, with the exception of mutilation,'

'Why is that not permitted?' Raziel asked, stopping at the double doors that led into the holding cells.

'I will tell you later, Raziel. But for now, I simply ask that you kill Santarinus honourably,'

Raziel nodded, bowed, and slipped quietly into the holding cells, taking a spear off the wall as he entered….


	2. Crimson Rivers

Santarinus stood at the opposite end of the holding cells, making no effort to hide the blood lust that emanated from him like light from a candle. He was almost as tall as Raziel, bald, and had tattooed dozens of tribal designs across his arms, chest and back. In each hand he held large Sabres that reflected sapphire patterns across the walls, regardless of the little amount of light.

'You are Raziel?' He shouted to his opponent, every word seeping with malice.

'I am,' Raziel replied, 'The bane of Oblivius, your brother,'

'It matters not to me your name or title!' Santarinus spat, 'I will bathe in the blood of your corpse either way!'

Raziel smirked. 'Should your blade even scrape the skin that covers me, I will tear your from your bones,' He readied his spear, 'Shall we begin, Santarinus?'

'You seem confident that you will kill me. You will bleed!'

Santarinus spun both sabres effortlessly around his fingers and began to walk towards Raziel, who took two steps forward, then crouched.

'You know not what I am capable of,' Raziel whispered, as he took of his clan cloak. Then, he broke into a sprint. Not towards Santarinus, but to the eastern wall. With agility that would shame a leopard, he jumped, kicked off the wall, and launched himself into the air.

'If only I had wings…' He mused, before slashing at Santarinus on his descent to the ground. His opponent ducked, and felt the edge of the weapon roar across the top of is head, nearly removing his scalp.

'Shall I wear your red cloak?' Santarinus jeered. 'Maybe then you would find it easier to cut me!'

'Wear not the cloak, human, for it bears that colour because I soaked it in your brother's blood. Wear instead my teeth, for they will make far greater impression on your enemy than those hands of yours,'

'It speaks, but can it fight?' Santarinus chuckled, dealing a powerful blow at Raziel's back. The vampire bent over backwards, and watched in mock awe as one of the Sabres passed over his eyes.

'Impressive,' Raziel said. 'But will your survive at all?' He jumped, and spun backwards away from Santarinus, turned, and delivered a flurry of blows to his opponent, all but the last were deflected, which ripped through his neck like wildfire.

He stood back, clutching his throat and gasping for air. Raziel raised one eyebrow. The defeated human fell to his knees, and his eyes followed Raziel with terror as he slowly circled around him.

'Victory does not smile on you today, Santarinus. It _spits _on you…'

Raziel knelt down next to him, and eyed his spurting throat with a look of madness in his eyes. He placed his fingers on the wound, and brought them back to his lips to tasted the blood.

'That is all you drink for now, Raziel. Kill him.'

Raziel whirled round to see Kain standing behind him. He shrugged, stood up, and lifted the spear. He stared straight down at Santarinus' blood covered face.

'Never kill a man while staring into his eyes, for the eyes alone can haunt one for eternity,'

'Do it,' Santarinus replied. 'You killed my brother, and now I wait to see him impatiently,'

'Very well, human,' Raziel replied, and skewered him through the chest with the spear.


	3. White Lies and Red Moons

The following evening, two figures appeared from seemingly nowhere in the darkness of the night. Hooded and cloaked, they stole across a rope bridge, one carrying a large sack that was seeping with blood. They seemed to be in a great hurry, as was noticed by Kain, who stood hundreds of metres above them, secretly spying on the suspicious pair.

'Painfully obvious, their intrusion into the Abyss, wouldn't you agree, Raziel?'

Raziel stepped out of the shadows and approached the edge of the cliff that they stood on.

'Does it matter? Nosgoth is yours, few venture to these parts,'

'You flatter me. But it matters not. I sent them on this errand,'

Raziel glanced over at his master.

'You know of this, take me with you, and do not inform me of the allegiance?'

Kain chuckled, and his voice caught the wind, which carried over to a flock of crows that flew away in terror.

'Out two intruders are Turel and Zephon,'

'I see. What do they carry?'

'I cannot tell you at this moment in time, Raziel, but rest assured the contents of that sack are an asset, namely your asset,'

Meanwhile, Turel and Zephon reached the end of the bridge and were about to leave before Turel raised a hand.

'Hold,' He whispered. 'Did you hear that?'

'I thought for a moment that I heard laughter on the wind, but such tricks are common by the Abyss. It may well have been a human's soul.'

Zephon looked over at the bag.

'Could it have come from in there?'

Turel shook his head. 'No. This one remains human, and therefore remains dead,' He cocked his head to one side. 'Shall we?'

Turel shouldered the sack, and led Zephon through a small path in the mountains, out of Raziel's line of sight.

'It is done,' Kain murmured quietly.

'You speak as if against yourself, Kain. What resides in that sack?'

Kain grinned. 'All will be revealed, Raziel…'

Three hours later, Raziel was called to the Pillars of Nosgoth, along with his brethren. They assembled under each broken pillar, standing beneath the flag that bore the sign of their clan. Kain stood at the centre, the Soul Reaver close to hand, as always.

'Brothers!' Kain bellowed. Silence ensued. 'Brothers, I bring you here to witness a new addition to our ranks, but do not be deceived; this is no fledgling..'

The vampire snapped his fingers, and the entrance doors were flung open. Accompanied by two guards, a hooded man stepped out into the room. He strode confidently to Kain, and bowed.

'The second in command, under Raziel, is none other than Santarinus Octavius! The very man whom was slain by Raziel, is now under his firm command,'

Raziel was standing under the fourth pillar, and had known who the new addition was the moment he stepped through the doors. He looked down at his hand, and clenched the fingers into a tight, trembling fist. This was madness.

'Kain!' He called to his master. 'You confuse me. I do not question your wisdom in this matter, but who is to say that this one will follow under my will? I murdered his brother, and him too. Out of the millions of souls that float in the Abyss, why bring back this one?'

Kain smiled. 'You will accept this vampire, mark my words,' he turned to Santarinus, 'now, join Raziel, take place under his pillar,'

Santarinus reached up to the hood and pulled it away from his face to reveal his bald head, and a pair of eyes that seemed to have turned red in the process of resurrection.

_Is there some devilry at work here? _Raziel thought to himself, _what kind of man willingly accepts vampirism, furthermore, to serve at the hands of his slayer…_

'I will join with Raziel,' Santarinus rasped, and began to walk towards the fourth pillar of Nosgoth…

The following evening, Raziel entered his masters' chambers with caution and guile, leaving a trail of subdued anger in his wake…

'Kain, this is madness!'

'Be still, Raziel. All is not as it seems,'

Raziel held his head in his hands. He snarled and looked up from the broken pillar he sat on.

'Why, Kain? You knew this would only provoke strife amongst the clan!'

Kain grinned, showing a row of razor sharp teeth, results of his first Change.

'When Turel and Zephon found Santarinus' soul, they also discovered a vial of purple liquid, someone had appeared to have cast it into the abyss in an attempt to rid themselves of it,'

'So?'

'So, I had Zephon take it with him, and examine it. It is an interesting concoction, one that bends the wills of others in a way far more powerful than out telekinesis,'

'So you administered some to Santarinus? How much?'

Kain leapt up onto a nearby pillar, and scraped his claws along the stone columns of the ceiling.

'Enough. A few years, perhaps. It is powerful magic. But I wager that there will be great strife amongst the clan when he awakes from the trance. For until then, he will be unawares of the being he has become,'

'A brother of the slayer of his brother…' Raziel mused as he dropped down from his pillar and began to make his way to the entrance doors.

'Very well, master,' he called over his shoulder, 'but when those years have passed, and he awakes, I will not hesitate to finish the job. Mark my words, Kain!'

Raziel left the hall, slamming the doors shut behind him. Once again, Kain grinned like a shark.

'Yes…' he murmured, 'I know you will. I'm _counting_ on it…'


	4. The Second Deceit

Six Months Later. Twenty miles south of the vampire havens…

To many humans, the sharp, ominous blurs that flashed across the nearby mountains appeared simply as a flock of ravens, or perhaps some kind of storm way off in the distance. Unfortunately for them, it wasn't.

Raziel was under strict orders to instruct and train Santarinus as he would train any other. Kain himself had issued the instructions, and was in bad sentiments after the changes in his claws had caused unpleasant side effects.

Santarinus was a fast learner and his intellect quicker than before, due to the potion that stayed his hand from making another attempt on Raziel's life. Agile, and strong, Santarinus could have made a good lieutenant, but for now, he was firmly under Raziel's sharp and cold wing.

Today, he learnt to feed. For weeks he had drank from vials, as his body rejected vampirism at first. Yet now, that had passed, and Raziel decided that his student's prey should be no other than a villager from his hometown. Santarinus, of course, was completely unaware of this, owing again to the potion. When he did remember his past, in that fateful year, blood would be spilt, and it would flow freely.

As they leapt from one mountain to another, Santarinus would often use the Whisper to ask Raziel questions about the vampire ways. Due to the speed at which they were travelling, there was no other way to communicate, and, ironically, most of Santarinus' knowledge of the Dark Gifts had been passed on through a dark gift.

For a good few minutes they danced along the summits of colossal mountains, simply revelling in their own power, discussing various aspects of vampirism. Although daytime, clouds blocked out all but a few of the suns burning rays, patches of pain that the two vampires avoided with ease.

They soon came to mountain stood directly above the gates to Wyrum, Santarinus' hometown. Santarinus approached, slowly, but Raziel stopped dead in his tracks.

'Wait,' he whispered, 'Kain brings us news by the whisper,'

He knelt down and focused his thoughts on the noise in his mind that turned slowly to sounds, then to words..

'_Raziel. Do not slay any human that does not bear an amulet of solid gold. She is the optimum victim for your apprentice. Slay no others, and allow only Santarinus' lips to meet with her pale flesh…'_

'As you wish, Kain,' Raziel replied, and stood up.

'Trouble?' Santarinus asked.

'None. Just….further instructions, so bear witness with care. You must only slay one of this village, a woman with an amulet of gold. Kain demands it,'

Santarinus nodded. 'I will do anything that my master wishes,'

'Good. Now, get going. Remember to the use the mist for cover,'

Before he left, Raziel's apprentince glanced at his master's hands, then at his own.

'Master…' He rasped, 'I have no claws to kill with, and my own sword goes blunt. Could I…?' He looked down at the spear attached to a piece of cloth tightly wrapped around Raziel's waist.

'Very Well,' he handed over the sword, and then turned to leave. 'Use the whisper to contact me when it is done. Kill no others than the target,'

'Yes master,' Santarinus turned, and adopted the guise of a beggar, slowly limping towards the town where a certain young woman would soon meet her doom. Years later, Raziel would reflect on the few minutes that stood between Santarinus' discreet departure and what would be his glorious return. Had he taken a moment to ponder who the victim was, Nosgoth's history would have been rewritten completely….


	5. Unforgiveable Deeds

Once past the gatekeeper, who had let him in with few questions asked, Santarinus scaled the wall of a nearby cottage and watched the villagers go about their trivial, insignificant lives. Adopting the mist as camouflage, the vampire silently scrutinized the unsuspecting locals, scouring each and every one for a gold amulet.

After mere few minutes, the opportunity presented itself in the body of an attractive young woman who had just left the house straight ahead of him. Around her neck, she wore a necklace that bore a strange symbol, one that seemed familiar. It was definitely the amulet of his first victim, but why did he feel that he knew it, somehow….

'Coincidence,' he spat, and leapt with ease onto the rooftop of the building she lived in. Even though he had not waited long, Santarinus grew impatient, and felt an interesting sensation of dizziness pass over him, the kind you felt just after waking up, a sense of drunkenness, and yet awareness at the same time. It mattered not, as Raziel had warned him of this months ago. Soon his lips would drip the fuel to his divine powers.

The woman finished tending to a horse that stood tied to a fence near the house, and then returned inside. This was his opportunity to move in for the kill, and he had not intention of passing it up.

Carefully and quietly, he leant over the edge of the thatched roof, shielded by the mist. He could only just peer through the window below him, and saw that she was alone, simply tending to a stove in the corner of the warm, cosy room. He allowed his legs to go limp, and fell from the roof, flipping over in mid air, and landing silently in the snow drifts that surrounded the cottage. He slid the window open gently, and slipped inside, the girl still unawares his presence.

According to Raziel, the blood of humans tasted best when the victim died terrified, and Santarinus planned on doing just this. He crept up silently behind the girl, who on closer inspection looked the same age as Santarinus, about twenty, although, of course, he was reborn. As he reached for her throat, he spun around, unsuspectingly, then gasped.

'San-where have you….?'

Suddenly forgetting all his training, Santarinus plunged his fangs into the girl's throat, feeling red liquid beginning to ooze from the fresh wound. He sucked deeply, and her body went limp as it was drained of all fluid.

Before long, the task was done, and he allowed the corpse to sink to the floor, lifeless, pale, and cold. For a split second, he felt a surge of guilty that because of him, such a pretty women had met such a violent end. Then it was gone. He turned to leave, but stopped as his eyes fell upon the amulet that was now soaked in blood. It still hung from her chest, and although the design was simplistic, it struck a chord with Santarinus, something deep and meaningful that he couldn't explain. In fact, now that he thought about it, it wasn't the amulet that seemed familiar, but this victim. Who was this precious gem that he had so violently struck down? Why did she cause long forgotten memories to stir in the depths of his mind…?

'Are you finished?' A voice asked, coming from the doorway. The vampire spun round, to meet ht eyes of a pensive looking Raziel. 'I see you have…..fed,' he murmured, looking over at the girl. For a moment, he seemed to desperately want to say something else, but he spoke no more.

'I seem to recognise this lady,' Santarinus said, also looking down at her, 'but it matters not, for she is dead.' With that, he silently left the room and leapt across, over the city walls, into the uncertain future that lay before him.

Raziel bent down, and removed the amulet from around the girl's waist. Flipping it over, he read the inscription, and his eyes widened. In small, black letters, someone had carved a message into the gold:

'For my darling fiancée, I, nor this amulet will ever leave you,

Ever yours…

Santarinus


End file.
